1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a winker unit for a vehicle with a hazard maintaining function.
2. Description of Background Art
With a vehicle, such as a motorcycle, a hazard mechanism is provided for driving a winker relay by operation of a hazard switch to simultaneously flash front and rear left and right winkers in order for other vehicles to be able to recognize the state of the vehicle when temporarily stopped on the roadway at the time of an emergency (See, for example, Japanese patent Laid-open No. Sho. 52-85499).
The hazard mechanism disclosed in Japanese patent Laid-open No. Sho. 52-85499 is provided with a relay having a contact connected in parallel with a main switch, and that is driven by operation of a hazard switch only when the main switch is on. If the hazard switch is operated with the main switch in an on state, the relay is driven to close the contact, and it is possible to supply power to the winkers via the contact even if the main switch is layer turned off. Furthermore, by opening the contact if the hazard switch is released, the hazard function does not operate even if the hazard switch is operated after that with the main switch in an off state. Accordingly, it is possible to maintain the hazard condition even if the key is taken out when moving away from the vehicle, and it is possible to prevent winker flashing due to the mischievous behavior of other people.
However, the vehicle hazard mechanism disclosed in Japanese patent Laid-open No. Sho. 52-85499 requires a relay for the hazard maintaining function in addition to the winker relay. This causes an increase in the number of components and the number of wires, and associated increase in cost.